LOS ANGELES – “That ’70s Show” actor Danny Masterson filed a motion Monday to have his two rape convictions and lengthy prison sentence dismissed, saying his trial lawyers failed to call key witnesses and present essential evidence that might have exonerated him.
The habeas corpus petition, filed in California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal, argues that attorney Philip Cohen did not properly represent Masterson in the 2023 retrial, which ended with the actor being convicted of raping two women in his Los Angeles home in 2003. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
The petition also argues that the trial judge demonstrated bias against the Church of Scientology, allowing “unconstitutional intrusions” into the church’s doctrine and misinterpretation of its scripture.
Masterson is a member of the church, whose practices were a major issue in his trial, and the women are former members.
The petition says Cohen spoke to only two of 20 potential witnesses brought to his attention by his co-counsel and an investigator. It said witnesses included some who may have testified that women spoke favorably about their sexual relationships with Masterson. And they included psychologists and medicinal experts who would have testified about the effects of alcohol and drugs on memory.
The court filing states that there was an unexpected and unreasonable failure of trial counsel to present any exculpatory evidence collected by Masterson’s pre-trial attorney, Shawn Holley, and that it resulted in a violation of his constitutional rights.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlene F. Olmedo refused to delay Masterson’s first trial to accommodate Holley’s representation of Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer against his allegations of sexual misconduct. Cohen then took over as chief counsel.
Masterson’s first trial ended in a mistrial, with the jury unable to reach a consensus on any of the three rape counts against him. He was immediately retried and the jury found him guilty on two counts while failing to reach a verdict on the third.
Cohen did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the petition, nor did the women’s attorney.
Eric Multhaup, the attorney who filed the petition for Masterson, said in a statement, “The unfairness of the second Masterson trial was the result of prosecutorial misconduct, judicial bias, and defense counsel’s failure to present exculpatory evidence.” “The jury only heard half the story – the prosecution’s side. Danny deserves a new trial where the jury can hear his side too.”
The petition says Olmedo erred by allowing prosecutors to negatively portray the Church of Scientology as an intimidating force. It alleges that Cohen did not even present available evidence that could refute this portrayal.
Masterson’s new motion is separate from his main appeal in the same court, a process that is pending.
Masterson, 49, is serving his sentence at the California Men’s Colony in San Luis Obispo. He will not be eligible for parole for more than 20 years.
Masterson starred on “That ’70s Show” from 1998 to 2006, alongside Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis and Topher Grace. She reunited with Kutcher in the 2016 Netflix comedy “The Ranch,” but was written off the show when the Los Angeles Police Department investigation was revealed the following year.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without any modifications to the text.